Weekend Music Roundup

The ever-continuing vinyl obsession marched on this week, giving this list a nice mix of old and new that's sure to be pleasing for both geezers and carpet biters alike.  I picked up some great stuff that had been on my wishlist for some time...some eagerly anticipated releases, some curiosities that turned out to be fantastic, and as always, some missing pieces in the collections of my favorite bands. For ease of browsing, the new stuff comes first for those who lack patience to plod all the way through my musical musings and only care about what's new...it doesn't matter how tawdry or vacuous they are as long as it's new as long as it's new as long as it flashes and f#@%in' bleeps in forty f#@%in' different colors.   (Special Coolness points awarded to first person who can identify that quote).

A.A. Bondy - When the Devil's Loose: Bondy's first album has been on heavy rotation since I got it over a year ago, and having heard some of the songs off this one during a concert last summer (and on his daytrotter sessions), I'd been waiting for this release for awhile. It didn't disappoint. Sure, it's the same brand of singer/songwriter folk as the last, but he captures the spirit of the pines and its lingering ghosts, both good and bad, like few others. 

Angus and Julia Stone - A Book Like This: I first encountered this Australian brother/sister folk-pop duo with their Hollywood EP, which I really enjoyed. I had put this one on my wishlist to get a further look at what they could do. I'll be honest, I partially picked this one for the title and the Wizard of Oz nod in the cover art. The album is beautiful. Reminds me a more earnest Belle & Sebestian and I'm always a fan of albums that have alternating male and female vocals.

Psychic TV - A Pagan Day: This experimental rock project dates from 1984 and is the mind-child of Genesis P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle fame. I'm not a TG or P-Orridge fan, but this one I'd heard good things about. I didn't really know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised. I'd supposed it to be a kind of early industrial bore, but it's more on par with something like Television Personalities. Lo-Fi and listenable. There's melody and nothing grating about it. Definitely will get plenty of listens. 

New Riders of the Purple Sage - Gypsy Cowboy: This band was recommended to me by my mom after we'd been talking about Gram Parsons. I picked this up on LP for $1 and that was steal. There's a definite Gram Parsons sound. This is a band of San Fran psychedelic musicians doing a California country record and it's great. "Death and Destruction" is an amazing tune.

Jim Croce - Life and Times: I've always been a Croce fan and will defend him against the haters with gusto. There's a sorrowful hope in his songs that no one else captures quite the same way. I often wonder why Cat Stevens gets more love when Jim had more to say. This is one of his must-have albums with some of his best tunes. 

Neil Young - Journey Through the Past: How this album is so often panned is beyond me. Sure, this album is certainly not a place for Neil illiterates to start. It's one of the albums that can truly only be appreciated by devotee's and fans. I say that because the beauty that lies within this record is in the subtleties. The versions of "Ohio" and "Southern Man" are spiritual. An entire side of a record version of "Words" is haunting. I always thought this was just a piece for the collection, I had no idea what I was missing.

Country Joe and The Fish - I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die: I dug this record out at a vinyl shop and the old man who owns the store was so excited anyone picked it up, that when I went to pay for it, he gave it to me. "That's a wild album," he warned. "Freaked me out when it came out." That's what I was counting on when I picked it up. I've always enjoyed Country Joe on the few things I have of his, but this is him in all his glory. Hippy freak folk with layers of meaning and intensity.

Traffic - Traffic: Traffic is becoming one of those forgotten bands and it's a shame. Dave Mason is one of all time favorite guitarists and writer of sad songs. Steve Winwood is amazing in he pre-terrible '80s days. This is a solid album with some of their best songs like "40,000 Headman".  If you're a fan of British blues rock of the late '60's, don't over look Traffic. Check out some of their records. (Also check out an even lesser known band called Groundhogs).

Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick: I've been working my way through the Tull catalog ever since Aqualung lit the bulb inside my head some 8 years ago. There's some bands that once I get tuned into, I devour their catalog like a starving Jabberwocky...then there's bands that I take a slow path, stopping and savoring along the way. Tull is one of those, mostly because Aqualung and Stand Up are so perfect that I don't want to miss anything. I got Thick as a Brick last weekend, it's really the last of their good-period that I had yet to acquire. Now having listened to it, the only thing that comes to mind is WHAT WAS I WAITING FOR! This is prog perfection.

Janis Joplin - Pearl: There are certain artists that for some reason I dismiss without knowing terribly much about them. I just have no interest. Janis was always one of those. Mostly because I associated her with faux hippy girls in High School and then the likes of Joss Stone came along and I felt even more ugh towards Janis. Then about two weeks ago, I was watching the Monteray Pop Festival concert film of 1967 and was pretty blown away by Janis's performance. Talk about giving 110%, she didn't cheat anyone. And that voice...amazing. So, I thought this was a safe buy for $2 on vinyl. It was worth a listen anyway. And wow...it's a powerful blues rock record. It reminded me of Tapestry but spun through a world of seedier hurt. Beautiful.

Seeing Things Clearly Now

A question that I often ponder:

Why do writers feel compelled to place their private thoughts out into the world?

Partially, I think it's that we enjoy dwelling in our stories for a time each day and hope others enjoy visiting there too. But I believe there's more to it than that. It sometimes feels like a duty of sorts. Writers are people that have come to see the world a certain way, figured out something intangible that needs to be shared.

We've peeked behind the curtain. We've seen the backroom dealings that negotiate behaviors. The workings of the soft machine that runs everything are no longer completely secrets to our eyes. Knowledge like that...well it just needs to be passed on.

Recycling

Today's lesson is an old lesson, but an important one that I constantly need to remind myself of at moments when a project doesn't go anywhere or even fails to make it all the way to completion.

 EVERYTHING CAN BE REUSED!

Part of being a writer is knowing when something hasn't worked. When I was younger, those moments were super frustrating. Felt like I'd wasted time, wasted energy and ultimately wasted ideas. 

NOT TRUE.

While working on my whimsy project (see last week's post) I realized that though the characters and dialogue were great, the story was lacking. And then I remembered a picture book I wrote a few years back that never went anywhere (btw most of the line drawings in my recent collage artwork come from sketches I did for that very same picture book including today's). Thinking about both projects at the same time, it wasn't a feeling of staring at two failures, but the potential for fusing two components that are seemingly incompatible. 

A new idea was then born from the two parts. A book that met in the middle of the two. I've been sketching out the idea in my head for a few days and now it's time to get those ideas into something more functional to see where it goes. I have a good feeling. But even if it doesn't go anywhere...there's always a place for it to go in the future.

Pack Your Bags, We're Going Back to Wonderland

Before I begin, I need to apologize...for two things. One for writing another book review so soon and two for once again writing a Wonderland related post. However, this book was deserving and if you read it, I'm sure you will forgive me.

I first picked up The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor in one of the little London bookshops that I previously wrote about. I'd never heard of it except in passing and was of course intrigued by the title and premise. I didn't purchase it (that being an expensive first edition), but I did make a note of the title. I finally bought it last week and started reading it. I was hooked right away.

As the title suggests, the book is a re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's two Alice books but it's also more than that. In addition to playing with the world of Wonderland, the book also reinterprets the true story of how Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland came to be.

There are few origin stories in the history of literature that are held as sacred as Alice's. The boat trip of an awkward mathematics professor and little girl named Alice Liddell, where the Alice story was first told, has become part of the legend that surrounds the book. So in a way, it makes sense that the author would incorporate it into any re-imagining of the book's contents. What the book supposes is that Alice (now Alyss) came to our world from Wonderland. Instead of Lewis Carroll telling her the story, she told it to him...and he got it way wrong.

According to The Looking Glass Wars, the real Wonderland isn't full of nonsense but rather a world in turmoil, currently ruled by Black Imagination and waiting for Princess Alyss's return to set things right. I haven't read a book whose action was so compelling in a long time (maybe not since Redwall). Make no mistake, there is a dark undercurrent to this book, but the seeming strength and menace of evil is what makes the reader root so hard for Alyss to discover herself and overcome all the hardships and adversity. Therefore, the action never upstages character and the result is a book that is both stunning and extremely satisfying.

To be honest, I was slightly surprised to have loved this so much. Being one of those Alice nerds who holds the origin of the story as something very important, I typically hate when it gets distorted. I grow physically angry when I hear people dismiss Alice as being all about drugs, or it's author of being an opium addict, seeing as it has nothing to do with drugs and he probably never saw opium in his life. The constant twisted film versions that try to cast a creepy shadow on the story anger me. Yet, this book, which goes all the way in destroying the myth, doesn't bother me (well, its cruelty towoard Lewis Carroll in the story sort of does, but only a little.) So the question is: why not?

The answer is simple. It's abundantly clear that Frank Beddor knows the real story. His changes aren't out of ignorance or a self-satisfying agenda. There's enough clues in the story to prove that he's studied the actual true story and is just having fun with it. There's a certain level of respect that goes into it that allowed me to put aside any would-be knee-jerk reactions and simply get swept away in the absolutely wonderful storytelling.

Personally, I can't wait to read the second and third books (the third one comes out in October). I will officially add this to my must of Alice-related entertainment and will more than likely be boring people with my endless praise for years to come.

Weekend Music Roundup

Tons to chose to from this week, due in part to last weekend's Oasis tribute and due in LARGE part to the successful hook-up of the turntable in my living room which has allowed me to spin some fuzzy warbles that had been put up on the shelf for quite a bit of time. Add all that into the usual influx of new tunes and what we have here is a great Labor Day list. Feast your ears:

Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom: I've been waiting for this follow-up to 2007's Leaves in the River for quite some time. Sea Wolf is a band that came with the first tidal wave of melancholy folk rock and they do it well. Though this album didn't quite live up to the first one, it's still a really good album. Smart sounds, smart lyrics. The second half of the album is breathtaking, too bad the first half is slightly lacking. 

The Mars Volta - Octahedron: Granted, I'm a Mars Volta fanatic (ranking Amputechture among the 50 best albums ever), but still, I truly mean it when I say this album is fantastic. A more low-key approach doesn't hamper the genius I've come to expect from Omar and Cedric. What I love about their albums is that every listen leaves me with feeling of having read a great sci-fi novel. And with Frusciante always nearby to lend his majesty, everything clicks.

Dandelions - Dandelions: What a find this was! I stumbled upon this record and wondered how I missed it in last Fall's kidcore plunge. It was like discovering a key lecture you missed during semester studies, because this is one of the best child performer albums ever. Period. Recorded in 1971 by two 8-year-old girls who wrote all the songs, sang them and played acoustic guitar, Dandelions is beautiful folk record. It's a superb album that sonically captures all that is good about humanity, and that's not hyperbole. 

Skygreen Leopards - Gorgeous Johnny: The new album by one of my favorite bands of the decade. This new effort continues Skygreen's brand of psychedelic folk. Sunshine sounds with daisy clad skeletons just behind the sky, haunting us with a presence felt but never seen.

Neil Young - Citizen Kane Junior Blues: This live bootleg was recorded at the Bottom Line in NYC 1974. It's one I've sought out for a little while, mostly because all of those early '70s Neil solo-acoustic shows are beautifully fragile and brilliant, and partly because in college, I walked by the Bottom Line every day. What's special about this show is the set list, showcasing a lot of songs that don't typically fill these Neil solo acoustic shows. "Revolutionary Blues" (one of my favorite Neil songs) is done in an unbelievable rendition that shook me. 

Joanna Newsom - Ys: This is my first encounter with Joanna Newsom, but most likely won't be my last. I could see some people being turned off by the somewhat Ren-Fair style, but there's a fine line between that and this, which transcends its roots to create something more meaningful. It's like reading fairy tales, dark and beautiful fairy tales. Reminds me of a modern day Incredible String Band. 

Jimmy Smith - Peter & the Wolf (arranged by Oliver Nelson): The classical piece was remade by these two legends of funk/ jazz fusion back in 1966 and to my ears, it brings the piece to life more than it ever was before. It's as if they woke up the music that previously had been sleepwalking and now it's out on the floor with a heartbeat ready to explode. Think "Night on Disco Mountain" but with two masters in the driving seat.

Black Star: The fact that I'd missed this is due solely to chronology. Released '98, I'd already soured on hip-hop and couldn't be bothered to sift through the endless club crap being churned out at the time in order to find a gem hidden in the racks. This is one of those gems. Lyrically dynamic, impeccable flow, and beats that ooze from the speakers...I finally understand how Mos Def became a star. 

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone: I'd never heard of EW before coming across the above album cover. My interest was peaked. I did a little snooping and saw it highly rated and figured, well with a cover like that and name like dopethrone, how could I not chance it. I'm glad I did. This is a heavy, heavy piece of sludge doom metal that summons the darker spirit of Black Sabbath but without falling into the traps the bore me about death metal. File under D for Delicious Heaviness.

Jefferson Starship - Blows Against the Empire: The transitory effort to Starship is on par with the last Airplane releases. The first track Mau Mau is a bit of a mess, but an interesting mess. Highlights for me are A Child is Coming, presumably about Grace and Paul's coming daughter who would appear as the baby on the cover of the Sunfighter album the following year. The other real highlight is Hijack, the lone Marty Balin song. Fantastic. 

The Places We Go In Our Sleep

Strange dreams last night of pending space travel and El Caminos

Detachable limbs and electric conversation

Endless possibilities always just out of reach

As I dream about the time and place that happens in between.

Books are a lot like dreams that way . . so much of it takes place outside the pages.

Summer's Over

-Everything runs backward now. Like matinee films sometimes, where people jump out of the water onto diving boards. Come September you push down the windows you pushed up, take off the sneakers you put on, pull on the hard shoes you threw away last June. People run in the house now like birds jumping back inside clocks. One minute, porches loaded, everyone gabbing thirty to a dozen. Next minute, doors slam, talk stops, and leaves fall off trees like crazy.- p. 238  Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

So writes the main character, 12 year old Douglas, in his journal as summer comes to a close in this exceptional book that I recently finished reading. I bought it without knowing anything about it except the impression that Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes left on me. I read that book about a decade ago and still think about it often. Seeing that Dandelion Wine was another coming of age kind of story, I gave it a shot. It ended up being nearly as compelling.

Dandelion Wine chronicles the summer of 1928, mainly from Douglas's point of view, but delves into the lives other inhabitants of the small town throughout the book, giving brief insights that are sometimes funny, often profound, and always excellently written. 

At its heart, like Something Wicked.., this is the story of a boy realizing he's not a child anymore. Both books do a remarkable job of capturing that time in life when the wonder of childhood starts to fade even though we try to hold on a little longer . . those moments like when you were 12 and spotted your old favorite toys and decided to play with them, but when you picked them up, they just didn't have the same magic. There's a sadness there and Bradbury recognizes that and writes about it beautifully. 

When you weren’t looking, the sun got around behind you! The only way to keep things slow was to watch everything and do nothing! You could stretch a day to three days, sure, just by watching!  p.106 

What's interesting to me is that both of these books, if written today, would be published as YA books. However, they wouldn't exist as they do. For example, there's a few scenes in Dandelion Wine that focus on some adult characters that would've been edited out if a publisher was making the book specifically for YA, not because these scenes are inappropriate or irrelevant, but simply because they would be accused of "not speaking to the book's audience." Which got me thinking a little about age-specific writing and it's benefits and limitations. 

Benefits: A story geared for an audience (in my case, usually kids of a certain age) that's theirs, all theirs. 

Limitations: Potentially profound observations, that kids could learn from, sometimes get left out because a certain scene or situations doesn't pertain directly to their lives.

Given the clear divide between YA and General Fiction among booksellers, it makes me wonder how many books like Dandelion Wine get lost . . coming of age stories that are for both adults readers and those actually still coming of age . . a book that looks forward and back with equal integrity. If you don't know what I mean exactly, give either of these stories a read. You'll thank me for it, I promise.